Unless you're a novelist (or blog-ist!), you'll be wondering what on earth has this topic got to do with running a business. Writers earn their living from using their gifting in the written word to create plots, twists, romance and all sorts of other page-turning tactics. The purpose here is to, not only get their readers to buy their books, but to share their 'take' on a particular tale with other fans of the author. After all, becoming a much talked-about writer is the obvious short cut to fame and fortune (especially if, later on, Netflix come knocking at the door!).

When the writer is impacted by what is known as 'Writer's Block', it's usually because he or she has run out of ideas, creativity or originality and struggles to put pen to paper. This can be de-motivating and, if allowed to fester, will have a negative impact on the writer's standing and, in the longer term, their bank balance.

The condition is so common in the literary world that the famous writer, George Orwell, wrote a novel called, Keep the Aspidistra Flying where the central character struggles to complete a poem about a day in London. It turned out to be too big for him and never really progressed having crumbled into a series of unconnected sub-stories. Now, doesn't that sound familiar when likened to all the different elements of running a small business?

Let's put it into the context of a new year and we're sitting down to articulate that dream plan that is going to bring in the results like we've never seen before. OK, we may be lucky but, chances are, we soon find ourselves stuck, just like the poor old writer staring into the ceiling and waving her pen around in frustration.

One particular literary practitioner's ideas about how the writer might address this is to give himself or herself permission to write rubbish . Yes, you heard it right, rubbish. Otherwise, they're as likely to be only focused on that masterpiece of perfection . Your rubbish may be that dream of a business plan. Whatever, type it into your phone, PC or write it down and put the timer on for 3 minutes using that time to add any other supporting rubbish.

Better still, this can be done in a group where everyone is given permission to go for the rubbish, no different from the time-honoured 'no holds barred' principles in brainstorming. After all it's well known how this can help a business move forward especially when embedded into its decision-making culture.

So what happens next? Despite sounding contradictory, rarely is this type of rubbish actually wasted. The writer's golden rule is to never dump any of your original writing in the WPB as, even though it might not be applicable now, it may come alive in another text later on. Likewise those pieces of rubbish that emerged from your business' brainstorming efforts may be anything but rubbish in another context at another time!

For the moment, however, you've as likely now got a collection of wild ideas and goals. Take each in turn and apply the SMART 'litmus test'. Are they?: